Postponed for King Harald's funeral: The King, Queen and Amalia host dinner

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Crown Princess Amalia on Tuesday invited the members of the Council of State to dinner at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. The dinner is held every two years and was originally planned for 9 September. But on that day the King and Queen were in Oslo for King Harald's funeral.

"Thank you for your flexibility, which means we can still meet this autumn," the King said in his speech. He called the dinner more than a fine tradition: it is a sign of how much the royal family values the Council's work.

What is the Council of State?

The Council of State (Raad van State) is an independent body that advises the government and parliament on new legislation. It is also the highest court in the Netherlands for cases where people challenge decisions by the authorities.

Under the Constitution the King is President of the Council, but the role is ceremonial. Amalia has been a member since she turned 18. As heir to the throne, she learns about legislation and how the state is organised. Queen Máxima is also a member of the advisory division. They can attend meetings but have no vote, and they take no part in the Council's work as a court.

A greeting in Frisian

Much of the speech was devoted to Sybrand Buma, who became Vice-President and day-to-day head of the Council this summer. The King welcomed him in Frisian, the language of the northern province of Friesland: "Wolkom werom yn Den Haagh", welcome back to The Hague.

Buma started as a lawyer at the Council in 1990 and is now back after 36 years. In between he was, among other things, mayor of Leeuwarden, the city where he still lives. The King said that as mayor Buma had seen how laws from The Hague sometimes turn out very differently in daily life than intended, and how many people get lost in a maze of rules.

30 rulings a day

The King praised the Council for its workload. The division that rules on cases issued almost 11,000 rulings last year. "That is 30 a day. And I am counting the weekends," he said. The advisory division gave its opinion in 312 cases.

He also had a joke ready. At the previous dinner in 2024 there was uncertainty about the future of the Council's court division, because of plans for a constitutional court. Those plans are gone from the new government's coalition agreement. Buma helped lead the negotiations to form the new government. "But that surely has nothing to do with it," the King said.

Finally, he referred to a book Buma wrote about one of his ancestors. The ancestor's gravestone bears a verse from the Bible: "We must work while it is day." The King wanted to add something: remember to rest as well. The Council is 495 years old, and the King said they want to keep it healthy and fit on the way to 500.